National Sport

Cavendish not included in GB squad

Mark Cavendish has not been selected in the Great Britain squad for this month's Road World Championships in Spain.

Cavendish, the 2011 world champion, required shoulder surgery after crashing out of the opening stage of the Tour de France in Harrogate and would not be suited to the hilly Ponferrada road race course which hosts the World Championships on September 28.

The eight-man British team in the event, which features 28 climbs in 254.8 kilometres, has options, with 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift and the Yates brothers potential leaders, depending how the race develops.

Lizzie Armitstead, the women's Commonwealth champion, is to lead a team of six a day earlier, on September 27, on a route half the distance of the men's.

Armitstead will be without the support of Emma Pooley, who retired following her silver medal in Glasgow, but mountain bike riders Annie Last and Alice Barnes, sister of Hannah Barnes, could make the final cut on the road after being named in the long list.

Commonwealth Games time-trial champion Alex Dowsett and Sir Bradley Wiggins, silver medallist in 2013 behind Germany's Tony Martin, are in contention for the two places in the men's time-trial, which takes place on September 24, but there will be no British representative in the women's race against the clock.

The World Championships begin on September 21 with trade team time-trials and also includes age-group events, with Britain refining selection prior to the event.

British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton said: "We're fortunate to have a strong pool of riders from which to make our final selection."

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